Have you ever tried Malbec from Oregon? Del Rio Malbec 2017 is Southern Oregon’s interpretation of this varietal.
Originally from the Cahors region of France, Malbec found its new home in Argentina and became its signature grape in the 1990s. The popularity of Malbec encouraged winemakers worldwide to plant Malbec in suitable vineyard sites.
In Oregon, Malbec is grown in Southern and Eastern Oregon with enough heat and sun to ripen. But you won’t mistake one for another.
Del Rio Estate Vineyard
Del Rio Malbec comes for Del Rio Estate Vineyard in Rogue Valley of Oregon. Since the late 1990s, the new owners transformed the pear orchard into one of the largest grape growers in Oregon, and now they cultivate over a dozen grape varietals. They sell most of their grapes to wineries in Oregon and California and produce wine under a few labels.
You can read more about the winery, wine, and winemaker in our article dedicated to Del Rio.
Del Rio Malbec 2017
Malbec 2017 is a wine produced under their premium label – Del Rio. The fruit for this wine came from the best Del Rio vineyard sites in Rogue Valley. The wine was aged for 14 months, with 10% new French oak barrels.
Lately, we had lots of Argentinian and Washingtonian Malbecs that tend to have a black fruit profile, and we anticipated the same from this wine.
To our surprise, Del Rio Malbec was leaning more towards red fruits rather than black ones.
We sensed aromas of red plum, ripe bing cherry, stewed cherry, baking spices, and, interestingly, herbal notes of parsley on the nose.
On the palate, it was like plum and black cherries pie. The bake plum flavors married very well with black cherry and light zest of black pepper.
The high acidity and rounded tannins balance the wine’s pie-like character, and you get all those flavors with less sugar.
Finish
Del Rio Malbec 2017 reflects its terroir just the way Jean-Michel, the winemaker, intended. You won’t mistake it for Cahors, Argentinian, or Washingtonian Malbec.
We felt that it was closer to Cahors’ red-fruit style than masculine Argentinian or rich Washingtonian. It comes somewhere in between those styles, and that’s why we liked it.
So if you fan of Malbec and like to explore different terroirs, try wine swinging with the Southern Oregon Malbec, and let’s say Cahors or Argentinian or Washingtonian. We would love to hear how it went.
Keep following us for more non-sponsored and objective reviews on our website and social media channels.